The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, officiated at the inauguration of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) International Training Centre for Conservation (IIC-ITCC) and the opening ceremony of its first training programme in Beijing today (September 20).

The IIC-ITCC is the first international partnership established between the IIC and the Palace Museum. The training programme is being attended by 20 trainees including two from Hong Kong.

At the inauguration ceremony, Mrs Lam said, "We are pleased that Hong Kong has served as the platform for the IIC and the Palace Museum to explore deeper collaboration, culminating in the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two organisations in promoting research and exchange of expertise and training in conservation internationally. The birth of the IIC-ITCC signifies the strong commitment and shared vision of both parties to enhancing the professionalism and collaboration on heritage conservation at the international level.” She paid special tribute to the Director of the Palace Museum, Dr Shan Jixiang, in initiating the partnership and expressed gratitude to the IIC and the Palace Museum for launching this groundbreaking initiative in nurturing conservation expertise for the benefit of the region and the world at large, and said she looked forward to Hong Kong’s further collaboration with the Palace Museum and the IIC. Mrs Lam also took the opportunity to congratulate the Palace Museum on its 90th anniversary.

At the Palace Museum, Mrs Lam witnessed the signing of the Letter of Intent on Staff Professional Development between the Palace Museum and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Under the framework, both parties agreed to further strengthen and enhance collaboration on exchange and staff professional development. She also viewed a special exhibition which is one of the programmes to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Palace Museum.

Mrs Lam will depart Beijing in the evening for Guangzhou for the 2015 Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau Co-operation Forum and the Qingyuan Investment and Development Summit to be held in Qingyuan tomorrow morning (September 21). She will return to Hong Kong after the event.